Early Risers
by Downtonluvr
Summary: John spends the morning fussing over his little girl while Anna gets a full night's rest


**This is from imagineyourotp 'Person A' is Anna and 'Person B' is Bates :) Just cute and fluffy! I can see Bates being a baby hog;) - Imagine you OTP having their first child. Person B stays up all night making sure their child is sleeping, and also holds the baby all day. After a while, person A convinces person B to let the baby sleep in the crib and finally get a good night's sleep. **

***I strayed a little from the prompt but I think it still came out just as cute. I found the lyrics to "Maggie" online, it's an old Irish folk song that existed back then. Thanks to a-lady-to-me for the prompt, hope you all enjoy.**

John awoke as he had each morning, just before the sun had begun to rise, letting himself slowly adjust to the darkness while rubbing the last bit of slumber from his eyes. He looked over to find the love of his life at his side with her arm draped over him. Her hand was settled above his heart and he couldn't help but contain the smirk on his face as he stared at her wedding ring; the golden, circular band that served as a symbol of their devotion and commitment to one another. It was a constant reminder that, like the circle, their love was endless. He watched as she slept peacefully next to him without a care in the world, looking just as beautiful as the day they had met. His Anna, whose face was framed by golden waves and skin was smooth as silk. If time would allow him he would have gazed upon her all day. He would have taken in every detail from her heavenly scent to the subtle twitch of her cheek when she smiled that smile that she only reserved for him.

Then the spell was broken at the first inkling of a soft, faint babble coming from the crib at the end of their bed.

A smile erupted on his face as he quickly, but quietly slipped away from Anna's clutches. John pulled his trousers up over his legs and tip-toed over to the crib, being careful to avoid the creaking spots in the floor boards. He leaned over the crib to find his baby girl amusing herself as she attempted to kick off her blankets with her legs as her hands flailed about wildly. "Well good morning, mademoiselle," John whispered as he greeted her with a tiny wave and a smile. She mirrored his reaction and laughed out loud. "You're lucky your daddy is an early riser. Your mummy would not be so amused with your sleeping schedule," he teased as he reached down to pick her up. In truth she would have been fine, most mornings she simply laid there quietly entertaining herself and Anna would often scold him for picking her up at every opportunity. The man simply couldn't help himself. Like the other woman in his life, he was wrapped around her finger.

Margaret was their first baby after all and he wasn't getting any younger, while he wasn't opposed to the idea of having more children, he wasn't counting on it. Even though owning the hotel allowed more time for John to be at home, he still felt as though he were missing out on important moments with her. He tried to take advantage of any chance to hold her and cuddle with her.

* * *

John carefully made his way down the stairs of the cottage as Margaret clung to his shoulder and gummed at his shirt. "Hold on my darling, I know you are hungry. Give your father a moment and I'll get your bottle ready," he said softly as he opened the refrigerator. She was becoming fussy as John shifted her in his arms to prepare her bottle. "What do you want my love? Do you want your Daddy to sing you a song?" he asked as he stroked her cheek and elicited a smile from his baby girl. As much as he loved to deny it, just to get his wife's goat, he had to admit his daughter was every bit the spitting image of her father. Margaret, who had been named after his mother, had thick, dark brown hair, chubby cheeks, and her father's nose. She did however manage to inherit Anna's eyes and lips, both of which were features he was very fond of. Looking back on the months when Anna was pregnant he couldn't fathom why he had been so scared of something so small. How could he ever fear something that was part Anna and was a physical representation of the love they shared? From the moment he first held her it had been like falling in love all over again.

John took a moment to think of the song that Anna sang to her, but couldn't remember the words. He bounced her up and down in his arms as he thought of an old Irish song his father used to sing to his mother before he passed. He sang softly to her as he prepared her bottle and managed to keep her cries at bay.

_"I wandered today to the hills Maggie  
to watch the scene below"_

John paused to gage her reaction and saw her smiling up at him at the sound of her nickname. "Yes, my love. Maggie is your name," he cooed as he continued to sing.

_"the creek and the creaking old mill Maggie  
as we used to long long ago"_

Margaret stretched her arms out to him and let out a loud yawn as she nestled further into the crook of his arm. John rocked her gently as he swayed back and forth.

"_The green grove is gone from the hills Maggie  
where first the daisies sprung  
the creaking old mill is still Maggie  
since you and I were young"_

John watched as her eyes became heavy with sleep and her head began to nod off. He chuckled softly as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her tiny fingers one by one. He then grabbed her bottle and placed it by her mouth before she automatically began sucking the milk from the bottle.

_"they say that I'm feeble with age Maggie  
My steps are much slower than then  
my face is a well written page Maggie  
and time all alone was the pen"_

As the song came to a close John noticed her fingers grasped his and the corner of her mouth twitched in her sleep before turning into a smile. John felt his heart swell with pride and his eyes fill with tears as he began to take a seat on the settee. His voice was filled with tears as he was filled with thoughts of his mother who was not here to see her first and only grandchild and his father who had been taken from them too soon.

_"They say we have outlived our time Maggie  
as dated as the songs that we've sung  
but to me you're as fair as you were Maggie  
when you and I were young_ "

John sat there observing Margaret until the nipple of the bottle popped free of her mouth and he smiled at the way she continued to make a sucking motion with her plump, little lips. As he began to grow sleepy he grabbed a quilt that Anna had knit from the other side of the settee and covered his legs as well as the baby. He thought back on his life and all the things that had led to this point and found that even know he could never regret or be upset by the bad things that had happened. Not when it all led to this-a happy home filled with love, a gorgeous wife, and a beautiful daughter. He kissed Margaret's forehead before succumbing to a deep, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Anna awoke feeling well rested and let her hand drift over to John's side of the bed only to find it empty. She should have known better than to hope that her husband would still be sleeping soundly beside her. Bless him. She knew John spent most nights sitting in his rocking chair by her crib just to watch her sleep and check that she was still breathing. He had probably already snuck off with Margaret and was off pottering around in the garden or giving the baby her feed. Although she chided him for coddling her too much she couldn't deny that he was playing the role he was destined to play to perfection. John had become every bit the father she knew he could be and then some. She would have to wrestle their daughter away from him long enough to get him to take a nap later this afternoon since it was their day off.

Anna descended the stairs, still clad in her nightgown as she tied her robe around her waist to stave off the cold. "John?" she called out softly as she entered the kitchen and found some drops of milk still fresh on the table. "Jo-," Anna began to call to him again as she walked into the parlor only to be frozen where she stood by the sweet sight of John fast asleep on the settee with Margaret huddled in his arms. The expressions on their faces matched each other's and they both sighed heavily as if they were trying to solve the world's problems. She wiped a tear away from her eye as she leaned against the door frame and smiled lovingly at the two most important people in her life. Perhaps she wouldn't be so hard on John when he doted on her all the time and picked her up. Time was passing them by and Margaret wouldn't be a baby much longer. She was grateful to have a husband that was so involved with their baby; she couldn't have picked a better man to love her and their child.

Anna removed the empty bottle and set it on the side table before brushing John's hair from his forehead and planting a kiss there. He moved slightly but quickly fell back into a quiet slumber. She slowly lowered herself onto the settee and laid her head against his shoulder as she watched their baby sleep. Life didn't get much better than this.


End file.
